What follows are excerpts from a series of weekly interviews by Jane Noyes with Julia Ferrari, from late 2013 thru July of 2014, about Ferrari’s current process of discovering and being open to change, while remembering the history and activities of the press.
Ferrari: I wanted to ask you if you would consider engaging with me in a process by which I am able through your questions, to recall the history and memories of the press. I don’t want to wallow in the past, but rather, want to make sure all the various events that were shared by two people, and now by only one person—by me, are recorded and not lost.
Noyes:… it’s not ‘wallowing’ in the past at all… it’s telling the story as you know it from true memory, and sometimes the same story. I mean, over my years I’ve noticed I can tell the same story over and over again, it will read very differently. And sometimes that’s just the overlay of time and our own personal development or whatever it is, so it’s really an interesting thing. It’s like layers of paint, it’s layers of whatever it is. It’s a fascinating process, and to me it seems like a natural process for you, given who you are and who you’ve been, it makes sense. Well I’d be very happy to be that person that you can talk your story to.
Ferrari: That would be great, I remember someone saying that they read poetry that they wrote to their hospice volunteer because they were writing and they needed someone to hear it. I think that prompted me to think, ‘Wow that would be great. Maybe that’s what I should ask Jane for.’
Noyes: I think we have a purpose but it gives it a, well … a structure or something.
Ferrari: … and a continuing purpose, actually, in some way. … one of the things that someone encouraged me to do now with losing Dan is to, on my blog, to write about what I’m doing, take pictures of things that are interesting and typographic and poetic and just write about it, put it on the blog. To get it out there that I’m sharing with the world what I’m doing, because I used to share all that with Dan, and I don’t have anybody to share that with. I mean, nobody knows what I’m doing practically speaking, unless I share it in that way. … you can actually go all the way back to May (2013) to read the stuff I’ve been doing since I started this which was part of a quest to reinvent myself.
Noyes: (Looks at the blog) Wow, you have some amazing work.
Ferrari: Well, it’s this kind of way from going from being somewhat reclusive to opening it all up, and I think by opening it up it opens it up to the universe and the world to come in to me, come here and connect.
Noyes: I think you’re right. And yet for being one who’s somewhat reclusive it allows you to have this connection but not necessarily have to invite all these people into your life, except in kind of.. slowly you can let them in. Control the gate.
Ferrari: Right, I control the gate. And family can read it, friends and even business connections and total strangers. So… it’s okay. Its good.
Noyes: It is good! So do you get responses? You must.
Ferrari: You know, people should comment more … I don’t get many comments. But occasionally I do. Not too often. I think people do go look at it, … So…
1/29/13 pt. 1